Adjustable vehicle seat



J n 1952 s. KRONHAUS ETAL ADJUSTABLE VEHICLE SEAT Filed Dec. 51, 1948 FIG. I.

IIII/IIIIIIII- FIG. 4.

FIG.

INVENTORS SEHEN KRONHAUS LEOPOLD ZOLLMAN Iii/ III ATTORNEYS Patented June 10, 1952 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE-ii 2,000,005 ADJUSTABLE VEHICLE SEAT semenKi'onhaus -afid Leopold zaumam LdsAn'gelesJCalifi Application De'cemliei s1, 1948;Serial N6f68fi9 7 Claims; (01. 155 14) This invenuomhas to 'di with adj ustable -ve hicle seats and has'an as-an-object the provision of a vehicle seat which may 'be adjusted ver ti'c'al-ly or horizontally at the willof theoper: ator.

Another object is the provision of adevic'e of this character utilizing fluid pressure meansfor acc'omplishing the adjustment.

Another'-- object =is theprovision of a 7 device of-this character in which theseat may beadjuste'dby "the simple operation-of moving a foot pedal'i- Another object is the provisionf a *seat arr'angemen't" which is 1 not only adj ustablebutwhichalsei absorbs road shocks;preventing thern from being transmitted to the seat? Other objects will appearhe'reinafter Td"-'renderour invention clearly understand able; we shall now describe preferred embodiaccompanying'dr'awings, wherein:

Fig wLiS a View partly "inside elevation and partly in' section;

Fig. 2 is a view taken on line 2-2 of Fig .='l;[-

Fig.- 3 is an enlarged detail taken on line- 3'-3 of Fr-"l" 1 Fig-. 4 is anenlarged detail 5 of tlie -foot pedalratchet arrangement;

-5"-is a i sectional fragmentary view; shew/mg a modification;

Fig. 6 is an end elevation, with part broken away; showing another modification; and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section taken on line I of Fig. 6.

It will be understood, of course; that it is not intended that the inventionshall be confined to the specific details and arrangement illus-" trated and-now to bedescribed since further modification" is possible within the broader purview of the invention.

Referring now-"to the drawings; we show-at 5 the floorb'o'a'rd of a v'ehiclefsuch as an automobile. The footboard is- 6,-and 1 is thefireWaIl, having an' extension' la providirig'a dash forthe mounting of the usual instruments. The 'conventional steeringpost is shownat 8.

At-i 5we show an L-shaped'seatframe supporting a seat l6 having a back rest H. The seat frame has, along each end, a pair of spaced par allel depending ribs 20 mounting rollers 2 t. The rollers engage in transverse tracks 23 provided by recessing the elevator floor 25.

The elevator floor is supported upon piston rods 30 of pistons 3!, the respective pistons being mounted to reciprocate in the respective hydrauthe pawl. This latter operation of eo'grse 10w and has'a'pivotal'connection -39' with a foot pedal ill'extending through the"footboa'rd I r I The foot "pedalis provided with ratchet teethf 42' engaged by a resilient pawl'or leaf "43 suitably secured to the footbo'ard as by screw meanswqyand a spring 45, likewise secured to the footboard; bears againstand urges thefoot' "pedal 'td'the right so that the teeth-engage thepawl 43, H

Thus, it will beobserved that when" the operf ator pushes downwardly 'on the foot'pe'dal; the: hydraulic fluid in 'the" 'master cylinder is forced into the" cylinders 33"be'neath thepistonsfs I"; thus forcingthe latt'ef' pistons outwardly or he-tyne;- ders to raise the elevator floor 2 5'. The pawl 43 engages "the teeth 42; to retain the 'piston"'38"in" its downwar'd'fiuiddisplacing position in the master cylinder until it is" released by the oper ator. This release is accomplished 'bythe fop'er' ato'r' swinging the foot pedal tothe left against spring 45'to'fr'ee the 'teeth from engageinentwith' the elevator. It will beobserved from the" f0 goinglthat the "piston and cylinder arrange ment 3 I, 33; also'ac't' as shock absorbers, render: ingthe seat 'mere 'cqmrortab1e; r N

In the form of'the invention' shown in- Figs.f -1 and 2,- wesecu're' to the rear foffthe vehicle-pertion of the seatframfeapair ofblocks each having anou'tercai'n surface 5i; andwerotatab mount on ashaftii a pairiof rollers 53"wh engage the cam surface; The s ears-securesat its ends to the seat frame, as by brackets.

A-coilspring 50 is secured at its -bgttom end to --th'e intersecting-portions; of the floorboard-fi and-theseat housing5|; which housing ;is eon-1 pleted by meansof an upright front wall--6 2 The upper end of the spring is secured-tothe corner-portion ofthe seatframe; so' that the spring ;is disposed to exert a diagonal downward;- d arwa 2 a a eet;.- m -z heses the elevator lifts theseat-frame, the seatframe; is 'ca'mmed -forward;a distance commensurate with the extent \1 of elevation, by means ofa-the cam surfaces 5| and rollers- 5 3: For instanee duringthis movement theseat gmovesfrom the" full line to the broken -line positionl-ot li'igt: 1, The seat- 1s maintained in- ;that position-by the elevator and the cam arrangement. However, as fluid is released from the cylinders 33 to return to the master cylinder, the elevator lowers and the spring 60 draws the frame rearwardly and master cylinder to the cy s y Valve controlled source of fluid under pressure may be employed, such, for instance, as compressed air.

In Fig. 5 we show a modification in which the seat may be elevated without being automatically cammed forward in response to vertical movement of the seat, or the seat may be pushed forward without being elevated or lowered. We accomplish this by substituting for the cam arrangement described, an independent cylinder 10, carrying a piston H having a piston rod 72 hearing at its outer end against the seat frame, the cylinder having fluid communication with a source of fluid under pressure, such as the master cylinder, as by a line 13. One or more of the cylinder 18 and pistons ll may be employed as may be desired.

In Figs. 6 and 7 we show a further modification wherein the seat frame, generally designated 80, consists of a movable, somewhat L-shaped upper portion 81 and an open topped box-like bottom portion 82, the latter being fixed to the floor 5.

The upper portion has at each end a pair of spaced parallel depending ribs 84, each pair defining a channel therebetween in which rollers 85 are mounted in a row declining towards the rear of the seat frame. The bottom portion 82 has upright end walls 88 extending into the respective channels to be engaged at their top edges between rollers. The top edges of walls 88define tracks for the rollers, which tracks decline towards the rear of the seat frame. Thus, as the upper portion 8| is moved forward the seat is elevated.

To move the seat frame forward we provide a pair of parallel cylinders 90 anchored to the stationary back wall SI of the bottom portion. Each of the cylinders carries a piston 93 which engages at its outer end a depending bracket 95 carried by the upper side frame portion. A fluid line leads from the cylinder, behind the piston therein, to a master cylinder such as shown in Fig. 1. To return the seat frame to the position of Fig. 6 from the broken line position of that figure. we may use a coil spring 95 anchored at one end to a bracket 91 depending from the medial part of the upper portion 8|, or anchored at its otherend to the wall 91.

We claim:

1. An adjustable vehicle seat device comprising a seat frame, elevator means for raising the frame and means operable in response to vertical movement of the frame to move the frame horizontally.

2. An adjustable vehicle seat device comprising a. seat frame, a seat elevator having rolling engagement with the seat frame, and means operable to move the seat frame horizontally on the elevator, the latter means comprising a cam member operable in response to vertical movement of the seat frame.

3. An adjustable vehicle seat device adapted to be supported from the vehicle floor, comprising a seat frame, an elevator floor providing parallel transverse tracks, roller means carried by the seat frame for rolling engagement with the tracks, fluid actuated jack means vertically adjustably supporting the elevator floor, means operable to supply fluid under pressure and release it from the jack means, and means operable in response to vertical adjustment of the elevator floor to move the seat frame horizontally relative to the elevator floor.

4. An adjustable vehicle seat device adapted to be supported from the vehicle floor, comprising a seat frame, an elevator floor providing parallel transverse tracks, roller means carried by the seat frame for rolling engagement with the tracks, fluid actuated jack means vertically adjustably supporting the elevator floor, means operable to supply fluid under pressure and release it from the jack means, and cam and follower means operable in response to vertical adjustment of the elevator floor to move the seat frame horizontally relative to the elevator floor.

5. An adjustable vehicle seat device adapted to be supported from the vehicle floor, comprising a seat frame, an elevator floor providing parallel transverse tracks, roller means carried by the seat frame for rolling engagement with the tracks, fluid actuated jack means vertically adjustably supporting the elevator floor, means operable to supply fluid under pressure and release it from the jack means, cam and follower means operable in response to vertical adjustment of the elevator floor to move the seat frame horizontally in one direction relative to the elevator floor, and spring mean operable to move the seat frame horizontally in the opposite direction relative to the elevator floor.

6. In a vehicle seat adjusting device, an elevator, a seat frame supported by and movable with the elevator into elevated position, said seat frame being laterally movable relative to the elevator, and means operable in response to movement of the seat frame into elevated position to move the seat frame laterally relative to the elevator.

7. In a vehicle seat adjusting device, an elevator, a floor supported by and movable with the elevator into elevated position, a seat frame laterally movably supported on the floor, and means operable in response to vertical movement of the seat frame to move the seat frame laterally relative to the floor.

SEMEN KRONHAUS. LEOPOLD ZOLLMAII.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,187,745 Kerr June 20, 1916 1,446,833 Carlson Feb. 27, 1923 1,677,584 Cronwall July 17, 1928 1,957,785 Knapp May 8, 1934 2,088,784 Galamb et al. I Aug. 3, 1937 2,270,233 Shaw Jan. 20, 1942 2,432,895 Horton Dec. 16, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 14,029 Great Britain of 1914 

